Imperfect

Twenty-six - Alyssa:

A cool breeze washed over my skin, providing me with the smallest moment of relief from the blistering heat. Sweat coated my bare skin and my hair was practically plastered to my neck but I revelled in the heat. Summer had always been my favourite time of the year but the stickiness of the city always made it feel suffocating, while lounging on the beach with a book and the occasional breeze from out at sea felt like paradise.

There wasn't a single other person around, so I basked in the rare silence. Living with four guys didn't allow for a lot of silence and while I hated to admit that I felt slightly comforted by their constant presence, I missed not having a splitting headache. All I could hear was the waves lapping against the shore and a few gulls squawking overhead.

I had closed my eyes a while ago and lost myself in my own thoughts until I drifted off into a light sleep. I'd been thrilled to sleep in a proper bed last night, although, the huge double had felt a little vacant in comparison to my snug little tent and I hated that a part of me missed it. My room had been too big and empty, too quiet without the gushing river and the soft snoring coming from the tent beside me. I'd found myself tossing and turning for a while before finally, I drifted off in the early hours of the morning.

Out here, sleep had crept up on me without issue, with the soft sounds of the waves, the breeze and the sound of the birds. When I awoke, it was to the sound of Cal's voice. "Lys!" he called. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and raised my head, squinting from the intensity of the sunlight. Once I adjusted to the brightness, I scanned the beach and spotted the top of Cal's head from the other side of the small, sloping dunes ahead of me. "Lys!"

I rolled my eyes and scrambled to my feet so he could see me. He started to make his way over while I gathered up my things and threw my dress back over my bikini. "Hey," he called when he was close enough to no longer need to shout. "The guys are just finishing breakfast if you want any?"

Despite the way my stomach rolled, I followed him back to the house where the guys surrounded the dining table, plates of scrambled egg on toast in front of them. "Hey, did you want avocado, Lys?" Ben asked as I took a seat opposite him. I managed a nod, my throat clogged with emotion. This had been my moms favourite thing to have for breakfast.

Ben spread some mashed avocado across a slice of wholewheat bread and then added a scoop of scrambled egg before pushing it in my direction. He didn't say anything to me. Instead, the guys talked amongst themselves while I took the first bite. It had been a long time since I'd eaten bread. Ryan had told me it was too fattening and I needed to cut it out of my diet but I'd forgotten how good something as simple as avocado and egg on toast was.

I ate in silence, taking a lot longer than the rest of the guys, who all had several slices of toast while I only had one, but I felt a weird sense of pride when I'd finished. I left the guys to wash up and took a seat outside on the small patio sofa. I continued to read the next chapter of my book. It had been a very long time since I'd picked up a book but I was really enjoying this story and in the games room there was a shelf full of books for me to try when I'd finished this one.

"Book any good?"

I turned to see Cal step out of the patio doors and take the seat opposite me. I only nodded in response to his question, quickly diverting my attention back to the words written across the page. "When you've finished your chapter do you want to train for a bit?"

I glanced up at him. "Yeah, I won't be long."

Rather than leave, he simply sat and watched me while I flipped the pages. I shifted, uncomfortable under his watch, until I finished the chapter, nearly screaming in frustration at the cliff-hanger. "Okay, I'm ready." I slammed the book shut, knowing I'd have to wait until later to find out what happened next.